page_title: Cobourg and Peterborough Railway
section_title: Cobourg and Peterborough Railway
hierarchical_section_title: Cobourg and Peterborough Railway / History / Cobourg and Peterborough Railway
caption_attribution_description: English: The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway in Ontario, Canada, ran straight across Rice Lake on this causeway and bridges further north. Ice was a significant problem over its short lifetime, and the bridges collapsed in 1861.
context_page_description: The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was one of the first railway lines to be built in Central Ontario, Canada. The line was initially considered in 1831 as a way to bring the products from the burgeoning area around Peterborough to markets on Lake Ontario through the port in the town of Cobourg. A series of problems, including the Upper Canada Rebellion and the Panic of 1837, meant that construction did not begin until 1853, reaching Peterborough in 1854.
  The line ran directly over Rice Lake on what was then the largest trestle bridge in the world. However, it was not the strongest, and the bridge was shifted due to ice only a few days after opening. Problems with ice continued to be a serious concern throughout the railway's history. A series of companies took over operations of the C&PRy, including a lease to the shareholders of the Port Hope, Lindsay & Beaverton Railway, who ran a competing line only a few miles away. The new operators surreptitiously sabotaged the bridge, causing it to collapse in 1861.
  The southern portion of the line, below Rice Lake, had a second life from 1867 as part of the Cobourg, Peterborough & Marmora Railway & Mining Company.
context_section_description: Soon after the road was rendered useless, a new group led by D'Arcy Boulton Jr. (G.S.'s and Peter Robinson's nephew) restarted efforts to build the railway. This time the plan was to push across Rice Lake and end in Peterborough, at that time a quickly growing industrial town. In the fall of 1850, Andrew Jeffrey was appointed to head a new committee to study the railway. Other members of the group included Boulton, the mayor Ebeneezer Perry, H. Ruttan and T. Dumble. In late 1851 Boulton claimed that a line would be operational in three years.
  A new charter for the Cobourg & Peterborough Railway was granted on 10 December 1852, and the town purchased 25,000 pounds of the stock. The engineering was initially offered Samuel Keefer who estimated the cost at 125,000 pounds, but could not take the job. It was then offered to Ira Spaulding, who recommended increasing the estimate to 151,000 pounds in light of the costs of the bridge across Rice Lake. A construction contract was offered and picked up by Zimmerman & Balch, Samuel Zimmerman's firm, who signed the contract on 15 January 1853, and threw in 1,000 pounds for good will.
  Sod was turned by the new mayor's wife on 7 February 1853, at the corner of what is today the northeast corner of Spring Street and University Avenue (then Railway and Seminary). Work on the bridge started on March 3. Financial problems arose in 1854 with the advent of the Crimean War which created a labour shortage and wages rose to one dollar per twelve-hour day. James Crossen was contracted to build rolling stock, the start of a company that would long outlast the railway itself.
  The line reached Harwood in May 1854, and citizens were offered a free ride on the line. Work on the bridge continued through the year. The bridge was the second largest civil engineering project in North America at the time, consisting of a series of trestles, 31 Burr Truss bridges, and a centre pivot draw bridge, extending for two and a half miles across the lake. However, to save money, Zimmerman did not fill in the pilings along the northern sections of the bridge, which were noticed in the spring of 1854 to have shifted due to ice.
  The line was opened all the way to Peterborough on 29 December 1854, again with offers of a free ride the 28.5 mile length of the line. The line had only been running for three days when, on 1 January 1855, shifting ice on the lake pushed the bridge and it had to be closed for repairs. The bridge continued to be a serious problem throughout the railway's lifetime. John Fowler was brought in to replace Spaulding, and the bridge was gradually upgraded, starting with the construction of causeways in the shallower portions. Full service was restored in the spring, but by this time poor construction of the southern portions of the line was becoming evident as well.
  In spite of any problems, the railway under Boulton's directorship proved extremely lucrative for all involved. Building lots in Harwood jumped from $3 to $400 an acre, and incomes from the line proved to be considerably higher the similar lines in the area.
caption: The C&P ran straight across Rice Lake on this causeway and a series of bridges further north.
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